


In times of crisis

by deltamagna



Category: Original Work
Genre: F/F, F/M, Original Character(s), Original Fiction, Original Universe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-16
Updated: 2020-04-16
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:48:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,537
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23689438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deltamagna/pseuds/deltamagna
Summary: Four new flatmates figure out how to live with each other during lockdown.
Relationships: Original Female Character/Original Female Character, Original Female Character/Original Male Character
Kudos: 1





	In times of crisis

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to my friends for reading all my incessant ramblings about this fic. These stupid characters wouldn't leave me alone. This is what quarantine has done to me. 
> 
> Fair warning: I haven't written anything in years. I am super rusty and it shows.

**Darcy**

Location: 10 Lilyfield Road, Lilyfield

Darcy watched from the balcony of her apartment as her now ex-flatmate packed her final suitcase into the boot of the Uber. Her ex-flatmate turned back to look up at Darcy and gave a big wave before getting in the Uber. Darcy sighed heavily before turning to head back into the apartment before she got a sunburn from her 5 minutes of daily sun exposure. 

“Fuck” she said to the empty apartment that she could no longer afford. Darcy sank down into the couch and blindly reached for the iPad that was balanced precariously on the arm of the couch. She grumbled as she opened flatmates.com.au and quickly checked her empty inbox. 

The ad for flatmates had been up for at least two and a half weeks now and she still hadn’t received a single response. She wondered if it was because the photos had poor lighting or if it was just because the world had apparently gone to shit in 2020. Probably both she decided. An anxious chill sped up her spine as she thought about paying for next month’s rent. Her lovely Twitch followers had been able to donate enough to cover a month’s worth of rent but she would definitely struggle beyond that. 

Three weeks ago, her flatmates had all announced that they were heading back to their families and significant others because they could sense that the situation was getting worse. Darcy was going to do the same, she really was but... she procrastinated. One day the flights were $1000 to Dublin and the next it was $4000. There was no way she was paying $4000 to fly back home so she decided to stay put and look for new flatmates. What didn’t kill her would make her stronger she decided...which in hindsight was a poor choice of words.

“Ugh fine. You win flatmates.com.” Darcy sighed again as she begrudgingly paid the $5 to boost her ad on flatmates.com.

_ Three episodes of Killing Eve later…  _

**New Message from Aaron on Flatmates.com.au**

> Hi Darcy,
> 
> I’m messaging you in response to your ad for a double room in Lilyfield. I’m interested in arranging a viewing! I’m free anytime after 3pm tomorrow, let me know what time works for you :-)
> 
> Here’s my phone number: xxxx-xxx-xxx
> 
> Thanks!
> 
> Aaron

Darcy blinked the drowsiness from her eyes as she skimmed through the message. She all but jumped out of the chair when she realised it was a viewing request! Finally, someone had answered her ad. She scrambled to check his profile to make sure he wasn’t some psycho killer or weirdo but his profile turned out to be surprisingly normal. His profile photo was a photo of a really muscular Asian guy and a petit tanned girl drinking bubble tea together...were they a couple? Thinking that she could get two flatmates for one, Darcy excitedly typed out her response. She had no time to waste.

**Ally**

Location: A shitty hotel in Maroubra 

Ally looked at her belongings forlornly; three suitcases, one laptop, a nutribullet and a full-length mirror. That was all she had in the world at the moment. She thought longingly of her damp and dingy studio apartment in Maroubra which had recently been deemed uninhabitable by Maroubra council. It turned out that the pipes underneath the floorboards had been leaking for years. The rotting had been so extensive that it had caused “significant structural damage” which made it “unsuitable for habitation and likely to cause harm to its inhabitants” according to the official council report. 

Ally both loved and hated that flat. It was a small home away from home that always needed TLC but at least it was a place that she could call her own. Her rental agency had given her a week of free hotel accommodation while they helped her look for a new place but it was getting to the end of the week and things weren’t looking up. She wasn’t sure if it was because her expectations were too high or because the world was super fucked up right now. Definitely both. With an exasperated huff, she decided that she could no longer stay in this shitty hotel. Enough was enough. 

**Ally Leung just posted on Facebook!**

> Hi everyone,
> 
> I’ve recently been left homeless in Sydney due to some apartment troubles. If you know of anyone who has a spare room or a flat to rent, please let me know! Thanks & stay safe in these crazy times! 

**Aaron Chan just commented on your post**

> Ally, I’m so sorry to hear that! I know of a place. I’ll DM you the details now. 

**1 new message**

> Aaron: Hey Ally, long time no chat! How’s it hanging? I’m looking to move as well and I found this ad on flatmates that has 3 double furnished rooms available. It’d be way cooler if I could move into a place with someone I know :-) Here are the details! I’m going for a viewing on Thursday. Let me know if you want to join! 
> 
> Aaron: Oh and Nico says hi btw. 
> 
> Aaron: Nico says that I need to send you this: 
> 
> *Screenshot of Nico’s message*: Ally, please consider moving in with Aaron. The idiot needs someone to look after him. He’s been stress cooking non-stop since work let him off.
> 
> Aaron: Also, side note: don’t listen to Nico, Ally. You do you. 
> 
> Ally: Don’t you two live together? Why are you moving? 
> 
> Aaron: Oh! We were supposed to move in together last month but Nico said that the situation was getting pretty bad and that she didn’t want to infect me. She’s rented out a small studio next in Concord and I’m forbidden from being within 2m of her. She said that I should look for a place to stay for the next few months...at least until all this blows over. 
> 
> Ally: Oh...you must miss her. 
> 
> Aaron: SO MUCH.
> 
> Ally: Thanks for sharing the details btw. It looks like the rental market is a bit quiet right now. *thinking emoji*

Ally pondered her options as she started at the listing that Aaron had sent her. She could stay here in this shitty hotel that had more cockroaches than humans...or she could move in with Aaron, a guy she hadn’t really talked to since high school. Without thinking twice, Ally typed out her next message. 

> Ally: What time are you going to the viewing on Thursday? I’ll join you.

**Jun**

Location: Somewhere on Parramatta Road

Jun waved frantically at the M50 that was speeding down en eerily quiet Parramatta road. The bus screeched to a halt just past the bus station and the doors hissed open. Jun hitched her duffel bag higher onto her shoulder as she tapped onto the bus. Tapping on was still a novelty that she had yet to get used to. She giggled to herself, thinking of all the mundane things she would get to do now. She sank down into the seat, looking out the window at all the houses passing by, her stomach fluttered with butterflies. She thought of her imminent freedom with both excitement and a bit of trepidation. Her parents were going to be super pissed but they’d come around after a while. In fact, they probably won’t even notice that she had left...at least not for a few days. Her heart raced as the bus pulled up at the station and she stepped off without tapping off. Looking around, she pulled up Google maps once more and set off in the direction of her new home. 

> To: Darcy
> 
> Jun: Hey, I’m walking up to the flat now. How do I get upstairs?
> 
> Darcy: Oh! I’ll come down.

Jun had never really thought about running away from home. Her parents, while overbearing, were usually tolerable and let her be but over the last six months, her parents had been pressuring her to settle down and get married. They had even started to set her up on a few blind dates with so-called “eligible young men” as if she were some stock to be traded. More often than not, their dinners would end in deadly jabs and barbs. It all came to a head one night when her father revealed that she wouldn’t be able to choose who she married lest she ended up with a deadbeat boyfriend like her older brother. Jun was usually a calm and collected person but there was one thing that she could not stand and that was people badmouthing her older brother. She started avoiding family dinners like the plague after that day and instead took her meals in her room. During her voluntary self-isolation, she ventured onto a site called Gumtree and decided to try her luck at looking for a place to stay. Most ads looked dodgy at best with some even sounding like they were hiring for a brothel but she stumbled across an ad that looked borderline legitimate. Without a second to doubt herself, she messaged the poster. One week later, she stood outside 10 Lilyfield Road, looking at her new home as she waited for her new flatmate to let her in…

**Author's Note:**

> Can't guarantee that I'm going to finish this fic.


End file.
